PSY 121 - Conditioning and Learning

What is classical conditioning about?

It is about involuntary behaviors, as it is a learning process in which two stimuli are repeatedly paired so that the response initially elicited by the first stimulus can be elicited by the second stimulus alone

What is operant conditioning about?

It is about voluntary behaviors, as it is a learning process about the relationship between behaviors and their consequences

What is associative learning?

The process of learning an association between two stimuli, or a behavior and a stimulus

What did Ivan Pavlov do?

He was a physiologist researching digestive behavior in dog, and observed that dogs would salivate when he entered the room

What is the unconditioned stimulus (US)?

The stimulus that elicits the response before conditioning occurs

What is the unconditioned response (UR)?

The innate response that is elicited by a stimulus before conditioning occurs

What is the neutral stimulus (NS)?

The stimulus that does not elicit a response before conditioning occurs

What is the conditioned stimulus (CS)?

The initial neutral stimulus that elicits the conditioned response after it has been associated with the unconditioned response

What is the conditioned response (CR)?

The response elicited by the conditioned stimulus

What are the basic principles of classical conditioning?

• Acquisition

• Extinction

• Generalization

• Discrimination

In terms of psychology, what is acquisition?

The phase of classical conditioning with the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus are presented together

In terms of psychology, what is extinction?

The gradual elimination of a learned response that occurs when the unconditioned stimulus is no longer presented

In terms of psychology, what is generalization?

The process by which the conditioned response is observed, even though the conditioned stimulus is slightly different from the original one used during acquisition

In terms of psychology, what is discrimination?

The capacity to distinguish between similar but distinct conditioned stimuli

What are the types of classical conditioning?

• Taste Aversion Conditioning

• Fear Conditioning

• Conditioned Compensatory Response

What is Taste Aversion Conditioning?

When a taste is paired with sickness causing dislike of that taste in the future

What is Fear Conditioning?

When an aversive unconditioned stimulus is paired with a neutral stimulus that becomes conditioned to evoke fear

What is a Conditioned Compensatory Response?

A conditioned response that opposes the unconditioned response (reduces its strength)

Who was B.F Skinner?

A psychologist who wanted to know why we choose to perform certain behaviors and what makes us more likely to perform those behaviors (created a skinner box to test operant conditioning)

In operant conditioning, what is the operant?

Behavior that is controlled by its consequences (reinforcers and punishers)

In operant conditioning, what is the reinforcer?

Something that increases the likelihood of a behavior (adding pleasant or removing unpleasant)

In operant conditioning, what is the punisher?

Something that decreases the likelihood of a behavior (adding unpleasant or removing pleasant)

What is continuous reinforcement?

The process of reinforcing every correct response

What is intermittent reinforcement?

The process of reinforcing some correct responses

What is a fixed interval schedule?

A fixed interval of time until the response will be reinforced again

What is a variable interval schedule?

An unknown interval of time until the response will be reinforced again

What is a fixed ratio schedule?

A fixed number of responses until the response will be reinforced again

What is a variable ratio schedule?

An unknown number of responses until the response will be reinforced again

What is nonassociative learning?

When a repeated exposure to a stimulus leads to a change in behavior

What is habituation?

Response to a stimulus decreases with exposure

What is sensitization?

Response to a stimulus increases with exposure

What is perceptual learning?

When aspects of our perception changes as a function of experience

What is implicit learning?

When we acquire information without intent that we cannot easily express verbally

What is intentional learning?

Any type of learning that happens when motivated by intention

What is incidental learning?

Any type of learning that happens without the intention to learn

What is observational learning?

Learning via watching the behaviors of others

What is shaping?

Learning that results from the reinforcement of successive steps to a final desire behavior

What is working memory?

Memory we use to hold onto information temporarily, usually for manipulation

What is encoding?

The act of putting information into memory to be retrieved later

What is retrieval?

Accessing information from your memory when needed

What is metacognition?

The knowledge and skills people have in monitoring and controlling their own learning and memory

What is implicit memory?

A type of long-term memory that does not require conscious thought to encode

What is transfer-appropriate processing?

A principle that states that memory performance is superior when a test taps the same cognitive processes as the original encoding activity

What does a chunk mean?

The process of grouping information using our knowledge

What is blocking?

In classical conditioning, the finding that no conditioning occurs to a stimulus if it is combined with a previously conditioned stimulus during conditioning trials. Suggests that information, surprise value, or prediction error is important in conditioning.

What is the quantitative law of effect?

A mathematical rule that states that the effectiveness of a reinforcer at strengthening an operant response depends on the amount of reinforcement earned for all alternative behaviors. A reinforcer is less effective if there is a lot of reinforcement in the environment for other behaviors.

What does the law of effect mean in psychology?

The idea that instrumental or operant responses are influenced by their effects. Responses that are followed by a pleasant state of affairs will be strengthened and those that are followed by discomfort will be weakened. Nowadays, the term refers to the idea that operant or instrumental behaviors are lawfully controlled by their consequences.

What is the discriminative stimulus?

In operant conditioning, a stimulus that signals whether the response will be reinforced. It is said to “set the occasion” for the operant response.

In psychology, what is preparedness?

The idea that an organism’s evolutionary history can make it easy to learn a particular association. Because of preparedness, humans are more likely to associate images of spiders and snakes than flowers and mushrooms with aversive outcomes like shocks.